Fleecelike stripping for boot tops or the like



May 20, 1952 1 .s`. BROWN 2,597,285

l FLEECELIKE STRIPPING FOR BOOT TOPS OR THE LIKE Filed June 8, 1951 lc?.W4 I 5 l- Leae 8.1124010320 Patented May 20, 1952 FLEECELIKE STRIPPINGFOR BOOT TOPS OR THE LIKE Leslie S. Brown, Newton, Mass.

Application June 8, 1951, Serial No. 230,652

c cxaimsl (o1. 2 218) This invention relates to fleece-like strippingfor use on articles of wearing apparel or the like.. and pertains moreparticularly to improvements in the so-called Shearling stripping. orfuredging heretofore applied around the tops of storm boots, or used asa facing or trim on garments for ornamental or functional purposes.

Manufacturers of ladies and misses overshoes or storm boots customarilyapply a strip of natural or artificial Shearling as a fur edging orcollar around the tops of the boots. for decorative treatment to enhancethe style and appearance of the footwear and as a warm protector againstthe entrance of snow or water into the boot top. The strippingheretofore used for these purposes has been applied just as the materialis cut into strips from a genuine Shearling: skin or from a sheet ofartificial Shearling or pile fabricr comprising` a textile fabricbacking and upstanding bres or laments bonded to the backing andsimulating i'leece orv fur'. In either case, the fleece or pile standssubstantially upright from the skin or backing with the result that rawedges of the stripping are visible at the bottom and ends of the stripafter the stripping has been applied around the boot top, thus seriouslydetracting from the appearance of the footwear.

It is accordingly the principal purpose of the present invention toprovide av fleece-like stripping of this type having its skin or backingcurled or folded rearwardly at one or more of its wedges, so that thefolded edge .is normally disposed approximately at right angles to thebody of the backing. and the fleece or pile on the face of the curlededge rounds over the folded` margin The. conventional stripping for boottop ornamentationis approximately 21/2 niches Wide; whereas strippingprepared in accordance with this invention need be only 21/4 inches wideto furnish thev equivalent visual appearance.

thermore, the rounding of the pile at the ends Y trated in theaccompanying drawings.

i proved fleece-like stripping;

and thus overhangs and hides the raw edgesl of the backing. When thestripV is to be used. on a boot top, as aforesaid, the backing is thuscurled or folded along the longitudinal margin which will be at thebottom of the applied strip, and preferably at both ends of the stripwhich will lie in opposed relation along the front opening of the stormboot. It is not necessary tocurl or crease the other longitudinal. edgewhich is usual- 1y reverse-seamed to the top margin of the boot.

The folding of the backing margins and rounding of the pile at thebottom and ends of the applied strip not only conceals the. raw edges ofthe backing but also affords additional. advantages in economy andappearance. The rounding of the pile along the longitudinal edge of thestrip increases the apparent width of the strip and thus permitsV theuse of a strip appreciably narrower than the strips customarily requiredfor this purpose.

of the improved stripping tends to close the gap of the collar at thefront of the storm boot, thus hiding the slider of the slide fastenercustomarily used to close the boot front, further enhancing theappearance of the closed storm boot, and also permitting the use of ashorter collar strip than that normally required. The economies effectedby such saving of material are substantial, for it will be appreciatedthat thousands of yards of such stripping are used by storm bootmanufacturers in normal daily production.

A recommended embodiment of the invention, showing a strip of artificialShearling prepared 'for use as a boot top collar or edging, is illus- Itwill be understood, however, that the improved stripping may be used formany other purposes, such as trimming on slippers, and facingl on coatsor other wearing apparel, and that this invention is not intended to belimited to the particular usage herein illustrated and described. In thedrawings,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a storm boot having a fur edging orcollar made from the im- Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of an ordinaryShearling strip of the type heretofore used as a boot top collar.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the improved strip, curled orfolded in accordance With this invention; l

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line 4-4 of Fig.v 2; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse section on line 5 5 of Fig. 3.

The conventional Shearling stripping heretofore usedv in ornamentingboot tops consists of a rectangular piece of. natural or artificialshearling approximately 21/2 inches wide and 8 to 12 inches long,depending. on the size of the boot. The strip is suitably cut fromnatural sheepskin or from a sheet of articial Shearling having a pile ofnatural or synthetic libres simulating fleece or fur upstanding from afabricated backl ing. Although the wool on natural Shearling may run invaryingy directions in different areas of theV Furthe raw edges of thebacking are visible when the strip is applied to a boot or other articlewith its pile surface outermost. When such untreated stripping isapplied to a boot top, the raw edges of the backing are objectionablyapparent at the bottom and ends of the collar and there is a noticeablegap between the opposed ends at the front of the boot exposing theslider or other fastening employed to close the quarters of the boot.

Inasmuch as the improved fleece-like stripping may consist of natural orartificial Shearling or equivalent pile fabric, the following terms willhereinafter be used comprehensively to include materials or substancesof equivalent utility or appearance: Shearling strip to connote anystripping of natural or artificial material having the generalappearance of a fleece or fur edging or the like; backing to connote theskin or hide of sheep or of fur-bearing animals, and also the fabricatedbacker sheet or body of artificial Shearling or other pile fabric; andpile to connote the wool or fleece of sheepskin, the hair of rabbit orother` fur, and the pile or plush formed by natural or synthetic fibreswhich are suitably bonded to the backing of manufactured pile fabric.

In accordance with this invention, a rectangular Shearling stripcomprising a fiexible backing II of desired width and length, havingupstanding pile I2 covering its face or outer surface, as shown in Figs.2 and 4, is marginally treated to crease, curl or partially fold one ormore of its edges so that such edges are folded as shown at I3 and I4 inFigs. 3 and 5, where one longitudinal edge of the backing and bothtransverse edges or ends thereof are normally disposed approximately atright angles with respect to the body of the flexible backing. The pileis thus pulled or rounded over at the folded edges, as indicated at I5,Aconcealing the raw edges of the backing whenthe strip is applied to theboot or other article with its pile surface outermost.

`Hence, when the improved Shearling strip Vis applied as a fur edging orcollar to the top of a storm boot (Fig. l) ,-the roundedover pileoverhangs and effectively hides the underlying raw edges of thestripping around the bottomfIG -of the collar and also at the opposedends I1 thereof, where any fastening means employed to close the openingI8 in the front of the boot are substantially concealed from View. Thecollar or trimv thus presents a much more pleasing appearance,` and suchappearance is afforded by the use of a strip which may be narrower andshorter than that heretofore required for the same purpose. ,A

The edges I3 and I4 of the backing IImay be curled or folded over bydrawing the blunt point of a heated implement along the margin of thebottom surface of the backing which, if artificial, preferably has alatex, acetate, or resinous coating applied to such surface. The heatedimplement tends to crease or curl the backing along a fold linerelatively close and parallel to its extreme edge, with the result thatthe Afibres of the backing are shrunk or contracted along said fold lineand the folded edges I3 and I4 are caused to assume a normally curled orarched set with respect to the body of the backing II. It will beunderstood that the angle or fold need not vbe as sharp or abrupt asshown in thedrawings, and that any creasing at the fold line ispreferably on an arc rather than at an angle. so that the margins I3 andI4 are folded on a curve traversing approximately ninety degrees. Theprecise degree of the fold is obviously not critical, as long as the rawedge of the backing is substantially concealed by the rounded-over pile.

If preferred, the folding operation may be accomplished by applying astrip of latex or resinous cement to the underside of the backingmargin, as shown at I9 (Fig. 3), then folding over its edges upon thecoated underside of the backing and pressing the folded edge until thecement nearly dries, and finally releasing the adhesive bond by pullingthe edge away so that it assumes the position substantially as shown inFigs. 3 and 5.

Such folding or curling operations may be performed by hand or bysuitable machines, and other methods of curling or folding selectedmarginal edges of fleece-like stripping may be practiced withoutdeparting from the essence of this invention as dened in the appendedclaims. It will be found that the curled or folded edges of thestripping will normally maintain their preset position even vwhen wet,especially when the backer or backing material has been treated with awaterproof cement of the character mentioned, but both having sufiicientstiffness transversely of the margin to hold the curled position. Thestrip is nevertheless substantially free of longitudinal stiffnesswhereby it drapes or flts closely to the surface of the boot or otherarticle to which it is applied.

I claim:

1. Fleece-like stripping of the character described, consisting of alimp and flexible backing and pile upstanding from one surface of thebacking, at least one margin of the backing being permanently curledtoward the opposite surface thereof, the pile extending substantially tothe raw edge of said margin, and said edge being disposed in spacedrelation to said opposite surface of the backing, whereby the pilecarried by said curled margin is rounded over substantially to concealthe raw edge of the backing marginwhen the strip is applied to anarticle with its pile surface outermost, said margin being substantiallyfree of longitudinal stiffness.

2. Fleece-like stripping of the character described, consisting of alimp and flexible backing and pile upstanding from the backing on theouter surface thereof, at least one margin of the backing beingpermanently partially folded over toward and disposed approximately atright angles to the opposite surface thereof, the pile extendingsubstantially to the raw edge of said margin, and said edge beingdisposed in spaced relation to said opposite surface of the backing,whereby the pile carried by said folded margin is pulled oversubstantially to conceal the raw edge of the backing margin when thestrip is applied to an article with its pile surface outermost, saidmargin being substantially free of longitudinal stiffness.

3. Fleece-like stripping of the character described, consisting of alimp and flexible backing and pile upstanding from the backing on theouter surface thereof and extending to the raw edges of the backing,said backing havingA a permanent downturned margin normally disposedapproximately at right angles to the body of the backing, whereby thepile on said backing is rounded over the said margin and substantiallyconceals the raw edge of the backing margin when the strip is applied toan article with its pile surface outermost, said margin beingsubstantially free of longitudinal stiffness and the edge of saidbacking margin being disposed in spaced relation to the body of thebacking.

4. Fleece-like strip of the character described, consisting of a limpand flexible backing and pile upstanding from the backing on the outer,surface thereof and extending substantially to the raw edges thereof,said backing having a permanent crease defining a transversely offsetmargin normally disposed approximately at right angles to the body ofthe backing, whereby the pile on said backing is rounded over the saidmargin and substantially conceals the raW edge ofthe backing when thestrip is applied to an article with its pile surface outermost, saidmargin being relatively narrow and free of longitudinal stiffness, andthe backing edge of the margin being disposed in spaced relation to saidbody.

5. Fleece-like stripping for use as edging around the top of a stormboot, consisting of a rectangular backing of limp and flexible materialhaving an upstanding pile substantially covering its outer surface andextending substantially to the raw edges thereof, one longitudinal edgeand both transverse edges of the backing being permanently curled towardthe opposite surface thereof to provide a relatively narrow foldedmargin normally disposed approximately at right angles to the body ofthe backing, whereby the pile on said folded margins overhangs and hidesthe raw edges of the backing when the stripping is applied to the boottop with its pile surface outermost, said margin being substantiallyfree of longitudinal stiffness.

6. Fleece-like stripping for application to the tops of storm boots,consisting of a limp and flexible backing having a pile upstanding fromone surface and extending substantially to the raw edge of at least onemargin of the backing, said margin being permanently curled toward theopposite surface of the backing and being free of longitudinalstiffness, and the edge of said curled margin being spaced from thebacking, whereby the pile on said curled margin is rounded over toconceal the raw edge of the backing margin when the stripping is appliedto the boot top with its pile surface outermost. With said curled marginextending along the free bottom of the stripping, so that the strippingconforms closely to the shape of the boot top.

LESLIE S. BROWN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,661,018 Stroud Feb. 28, 19282,105,335 Smiley Jan. 11, 1938 2,114,749 Smiley Apr. 19, 1938 2,128,204Dunbar Aug. 23, 1938 2,328,842 Olson et al. Sept, '7, 1943

